Crochet: Laptop Bag with Six Layer Padding

You know how Sandra Lee uses prepared foods and makes them look like a lot of prep time went into it, supposedly fooling her guests with a delicious end product?
This crochet project was done along the same lines, using a few things that were on hand in the craft closet and finishing it off with a handmade smaller project.  The end result looks like an expensive purchased laptop case,  IMHO.

Start with a $2 canvas tote from the craft store for the middle lining...sandwich that between the outer crocheted "public side" of the laptop bag and the fabric inner lining.  Then add in some pretty fabric for lining and attach a key ring for personalization.

The recylced canvas tote had sturdy handles, so they were disassembled and covered with matching fabric and zigzagged onto the bag (one is hidden and only attached to one side of the bag for ease ofloading the laptop into the jacket).

Directions for making this 9" x 12" cover:

• chain 95 stitches of cotton yarn with Size E crochet hook
• double crochet contrasting complemenery yarns in rows to your liking (I crocheted 4 rows, 3 rows, 4 rows, 3 rows to a length of about 23 inches, turning and changing colors at whim at the end of the rows).  Now you have a little piece of fabric that looks like a doll blanket.
• fold over the finished crocheted piece of fabric to make a (roughly) 11.5"x 9" product; single crochet edges together
• create lining using canvas and pretty fabric, right sides together, sewn together leaving the ends open, and pressed with a steam iron (only 1/3 yd. of fabric is required)
• sandwich the canvas sturdy lining between with the pretty fabric lining cut to 23" x 9" to create a 6 layered, cushy pad for your laptop.   Add a finished fabric binding to the top of the tote to cover the raw edges.
• create fabric covered straps from the canvas tote by sewing fabric atop the handles and turning the fabric over with 1/4 inch edges, tacking down with blind stitches
• add a purchased key ring with charms to finish off the tote

Note: some assembly is required (grin)

Herbs of Provence

A friend sent my husband Herbs de Provence for Christmas.  It was a thoughtful gift that is a daily use as chicken dishes, eggs, and fish all benefit from a dash of this lovely mixture.  The crock contains finely ground thyme, rosemary, basil, savory and marjoram, and a small hit of lavender in the concoction. (Thank you, Dorothay!)

Coq au vin and this recipe with a whole chicken perched atop a beer can is one of the husband's specialties (he sometimes uses Herbs of Provence inside the chicken):

Currently in my little corner of the world we are growing:

• mint (LOADS of it)
• rosemary
• chives
• tarragon (the tag says "Texas Tarragon")
• parsley
• oregano
• sage
• cilantro
• garlic
• basil (hopefully the tiny seeds will provide the base for many containers of pesto)

Every time I try to grow thyme, it seems to fade in the heat.  Guess it needs a different spot.

Garden stakes with herb names imprinted on the front have faded over the years, so this is what I purchased from Amazon:

The ceramic labels have not yet arrived, so I went ahead over last weekend and planted some herbs with the old garden markers stuck in the soil.

Here are some recylcled window herb garden containers that perked up with Spray Paint refashioned by Centsational Girl:

Good idea, as I have several containers that could use a good slathering of paint to give them fresh faces.

Childhood Home in Watercolor

Just dusted off a watercolor I painted of my childhood home in Mereta, Texas.  We lived there during the drought in the mid 1950's.

Please visit my art blog that I updated with my better works (it's subjective, I know) on the sidebar.  HERE IS THE BLOGSITE.

And leave a comment if you are so inspired so that I know at least someone went to the Floral Art Blog.  Thanks!

Photography Tips for Crafters

This site gives seven excellent tips for taking photographs of projects.  These are two of most important techniques that I need to use:

Tip1 - Always, always, always use natural light. Unless you've got a tungsten balanced professional light kit or box, shoot your photos in natural light. It will keep your colors true, and add a certain warmth that you just can't get from an artificial light source. It is best if the light isn't too direct, as that can cause harsh funky shadows, and/or a washed out look. An overcast day is great, or late afternoon or early morning when the sun isn't directly over head. If you can't go outside, shoot your photos in a light filled room near a sunny window.

Tip2 - Never, never, never use your flash. It just looks bad. It changes the colors and causes weird glares, reflections, and hot spots. Do yourself a favor and turn the flash off.

This picture was taken inside, using a flash, (the project is the Drop Leaf Scarf, free download page here):

This picture was taken outside, without a flash, on an overcast day:

Can you tell the difference in the clarity of the picture using natural light?

Even after reading through the techniques suggested in the article, I'll likely just grab the camera, shoot a picture, and be thoroughly relieved that it downloaded to the computer.  No one is paying me for doing this, after all. :o)

Dogs

Dogs never cease to fascinate.

Libby and Mercy, our current fur babies

"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog."

- Edward Hoagland

Cancer and My Daughter

Malignant, malevolent, invasive: cancer

It has happened again, and to my daughter.  And it is breast cancer.  And how will she choose to deal with it during the normal course of Stages of Grief ?

• Denial (this isn't happening to me!)
  
• Anger (why is this happening to me?)
  
• Bargaining (I promise I'll be a better person if...)
  
• Depression (I don't care anymore)
  
• Acceptance (I'm ready for whatever comes)

She could be stuck and stay angry and depressed.  But knowing her, she will not.

Allow me to give you a background for Julie.  This is a picture of my daughter and me in her first week of  life, along with a little social history:

(the rest of the story can be read at More Magazine by clicking on this link)

Daughter Julie has been dealing with this latest diagnosis of an advanced breast cancer for about a month.  She has a myriad of medical complications to go along with this recent diagnosis.  But she has taken on this current medical problem with her usual courage and a complete lack of self pity.

So when I dare to complain, I remind myself to look to my exceptional daughter and her life.  How can one not marvel at her successes and her positive outlook?  And how could I think of ranting my despair from petty disillusionments or physical pains? 

God unceasingly reminds me of Julie, my role model for serene acceptance of what life throws at her.  I am blessed because she blesses.

There are things that we don't
want to happen but have to accept,
things we don't want to know but have to learn,
and people we can't live without but have to let go.
~ Author Unknown

Mother's Day

"Making a decision to have a child-it's momentous.

It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around

outside your body."

~Elizabeth Stone

Elizabeth Stone's quote was found on Susan's blog this morning.

Today, I want to say an even bigger "thank you" to my own children, for they have made me grow, stretch, be aware of my glaring and not so evident faults, and have taught me gratitude and a modicum of forbearance.  Thank you for being my children, Julie and Heidy.

“It is not until you become a mother that your judgment slowly turns to compassion and understanding.”

 Erma Bombeck

Mother's Day is the Big Day to say "thank you" to the mothers of the world. But there are others who also lay blame when "things go wrong" with children...

Thoughts on Mother's Day from The Citizen:

While fathers, teachers, religious leaders, and numerous other elders in the society deserve acknowledgment for their roles in the nurturing of children, it is a mother’s role that is extraordinary. Mothers are naturally the primary caregivers for young children.

It is a mother who teaches how to nurture and how to love. It is through her guidance that we as individuals learn how to be empathetic and sympathetic to those around us.Today mothers have lots of routine work, and responsibilities. They are normally always busy fulfilling their children’s needs, in such a way that they forget to care for their own.

However, there is a tendency to put blame on mothers when things go wrong with children. This isn’t a new aspect. Everyday we hear how mothers are to blame when children fail to live up to our expectations.

Coffee: Flavored and Otherwise

When is the best time for a cup of coffee?  Your mood dictates the answer, but here is a thought from Bon Appetite Magazine:

The Daily Mail reports that Professor Spence and a team of experts nailed down a formula that combines great flavor (F), the perfect environment (E), the coffee container (P), the company you drink it with (C), and the time of day (T). These factors add up to the most enjoyable coffee moment (M). In other words:

M = 0.5 x F + (0.5 x E + 0.3 x P + 0.15 x C + 0.05 x T)

M = the perfect coffee moment

The study showed that the best time to have coffee is actually at 11am in a well-lighted room or outdoors in the sun with friends listening to Italian opera or any singer with a low raspy voice. (According to the research, a person's palate is most sensitive at 11am.)

11:00 AM you say?  How about the moment you awake? 

After debating for a week over the issue of whether or not to buy a one cup coffee maker, I took the plunge and ordered a Black and Decker beauty for $17 (no shipping 'cause we are Prime members) along with a bit of flavored coffee just for moi, as the husband wants no part of fu-fu java.

It should be at the doorstep Monday, along with some flavored coffees.

Carin, video podcaster at Round the Twist, is always talking about her San Marco coffee as she chats about her crafting projects, her pup, mentions her job as a night nurse, and just generally entertains with her dog begging for pats in the background.  She got me thinking that I really need my own coffee maker for just that one perfect cup of flavored coffee.  Whenever I want it!

Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf

This Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf  by Karen Baumer (free download available here) will get lots of use because of the color combinations inherent in the superwash yarn.

The yarn is a wool superwash (machine washable) made especially for sock knitting.

Stripes evolved as knitting progressed.  Fringe was added.  Dimensions: 8" x 74".

These are a few other scarves made by other ravelers from the same pattern,  displayed on Flickr.

I'll definitely be knitting this pattern up again in a different self striping yarn, as it keeps you wondering how the next section will appear.

A Thought From Ann Althouse

"People who sit and knit are just the coolest people ever!" (Ann Althouse)

Twig Art and Lime Buttermilk Chess Pie

SIL Jack sent me a link to twig art by Patrick Dougherty from North Carolina.  Jack took this picture of Dougherty's work displayed in Rock Hill, SC.   Cool picture, eh?

More Dougherty artwork:

From a linked link on the Deep Fried Kudzu website (i.e, the sidebar had a link) the original recipe for Lime Buttermilk Chess Pie was given, and since I am a big fan of chess pie, I just had to make it.  But I digress.  Here is the recipe from Ginger:

1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1-1/2 tsp cornstarch
splash good vanilla
pinch of kosher salt
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
3 large eggs
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tbsp lime juice (I think I actually used a little more. Taste the mixture and add more if you think it needs it, but be careful.)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Mix the sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl, add vanilla and salt. Set aside.

In a Kitchenaid, mix buttermilk on low speed until frothy. Add eggs, butter, lime juice. Add dry ingredients. Don't mix for a long time - just incorporate. (my note: the idea is to keep all of this nice and cool. Frank says to cover and put the mixture in the refrigerator for two hours, but again, it was late in the evening.) Pour the mixture when it's nice and smooth into the pie crust. Bake at 300 degrees F.

The cookbook says that this needs to cook for 20-25 minutes, until the filling is just set but still jiggly in the center. At 25 minutes, this filling was only beginning to set at the very edges. It took about an hour for it to cook properly (and again, you don't want it to be completely set in the middle

Here is how it looked after an hour of cooking time:

but with three modifications: 1) added the zest of one lime; 2) covered the edges of the pie crust with foil; 3) cooked it for 60 minutes. Note: this pie was cooked at high altitude, so it took longer to bake.

Ginger at Deep Fried Kudzu says to let it set overnight and it will firm up.

Fascinators (Women's Hats)

The Royal Wedding showed off its finest.  Some links for your enjoyment are included at the bottom of the post relating from fashion to the sanctity of marriage.

But first, let's talk about the hats almost all wedding celebrants were wearing yesterday.  I learned from a television commentator a new term for those hats that sit on the side of the head: "fascinators".

The hat style, as SIL Charlotte remarked, it not new.  In fact, fascinators were quite in style in the 18th and 19th centuries.  Here is Marie Antoinette in what could be called a fascinator on her head:

Hats are not required to sit atop the head, but can be an adornment to an elaborate hairdo.  Marie shows her up-do to advantage with the fascinator adding at least 10-12 inches to her height!

From yesterday's ceremony, note the hat that Posh Girl wore yesterday with a sleek pony tail:

Kate Middleton has generally favored Philip Treacy as her favorite hat stylist.  Now that she is Catherine, Royal Highness, the Duchess of Cambridge, Mr. Treacy will likely continue to be a designer icon world-wide.

Remember Catherine in this Philip Treacy hat?

So an old made new style is coming back for hats.  The Fascinator!  Let's all run out and buy a few.

Satanica on Etsy has these lovely fascinators for sale at a reasonable price; swing over to this page to see more and/or to purchase on Etsy (everything hand made).

As promised, web links, courtesy of Living the Grand Life:

• The Commitment
• Wedding and War
• Stunning in Lace and Satin
• We See an Ideal, Not a Fairy Tale

Top Down Summer V Neck Sweater #2

Finished is Heidi's Top Down Sweater, rendition 2, with a lace inset under the neckline:

While listening to the Knitting Pipeline, Paula mentioned that BConstanze on Ravelry uses Picasa to make collages of her knitting projects, so I thought I'd give it a try and came up with this:

All Pink!

Details on this sweater can be found here.

Updates on the Tea Party for the Royal Wedding (from Ravelry)

Sharing updates from the Anglophile tea party group on Ravelry...

Queenie, complete with this avatar she has on her informational page, said

As you can guess by my user name, I think I am royalty. I have always said that I just need the birth certificate to prove it. That said I have backed out of a girls weekend, and tickets to the opening night of the Joffrey so I can devote the entire day to my pretend world. Years ago my DH bought me a tiara with genuine cut glass “diamonds” so that will be atop my head all day long. I am a sad sad sad individual

And Auntsugar adds:

While I wish I could come to your tea party I suspect I will hostess one of my own with the neighbors across the road. I will also be making pastry cups for the curds I preserved last summer,both made with the luscious very dark large egg yolks from her mothers chicken eggs, and the fresh, huge raspberries off their bushes! This is an Easter treat for her whole family. I wonder if the weekend figured in the bride and grooms decision to marry that weekend? The commute for me would be too long even in the virtual world. So do enjoy and savor you lovely scones and creme.

I added:

Yesterday I cruised over to WalMart for the weekly haul, strolled through the kids’ toy section, spotted a rhinestone tiara, thought hard about it, but then walked on by.

I am still thinking I should go back and get that tiara and wear it at breakfast.

Cristi adds:

I’ll be watching the wedding in real time.. since I live in England.  I’ve been getting wedding “fever”.. I’ve just finished watching the William and Kate special on BBC1. I’ve got all my wedding kit. :) and the day off.. because the day has been made a bank holiday.. yay!!

I took this picture in Sainsburys the other day.. yes I’m a saddo.. but I bought a bit of everything.

Looking forward to Friday..

Our Colorado/English breakfast menu is still being discussed.

Easter Dressing

Aww, my girls way back when in Billings, Montana:

You know it was a long time ago if black and white film was still in vogue.

Martha Stewart tells you how to make these carrots filled with trinkets.

Instructions are here:

Maundy Thursday

What is Maundy Thursday?  In short, it is the day commemorating the Last Supper with Jesus and his disciples.

More information about the word "Maundy" from here:

1. (obsolete) A commandment.
2. (obsolete) The sacrament of the Lord's supper.
3. The ceremony of washing the feet of poor persons or inferiors, performed as a religious rite on Maundy Thursday in commemoration of Christ's washing the disciples' feet at the last supper.
4. The office appointed to be read during the ceremony of feet-washing.

Jacopo Bassano (1542)

Jacopo Bassano's Last Supper, painted in 1542, is one of the masterpieces of 16th century Italian painting. Instead of the elegant grouping of figures in Leonardos' painting, which inspired it, this dramatic scene features barefoot fishermen at the crucial moment when Christ asks who will betray him, and the light passing through a glass of wine stains the clean tablecoth red. Recent restoration has only now revealed the extraordinary original colours, which had been heavily painted over in the 19th century, when the emerald green and iridescent pinks and oranges were not in fashion.

and about the dog at the bottom of the painting:

The themes painted by Bassano are predominantly religious but in the Mannerist style he includes many every day articles, rural people, barns and farmhouses. His work is devoid of the grand temples, the silk and furs of his contemporaries; Bassano’s depictions are of normal people, undertaking daily tasks. Many of his works are Franciscan in content, full of nature and animals, the focal points of his pictures are often surrounded by detailed images of farm animals, dogs and cats. His painting Two hunting dogs tied to a tree is credited with being one of the first animal portraits in Western art in existence.

A Party Invitation For Wills & Kate

Are you caught up in the Royal excitement of the wedding? If so, please come join in the party on April 29, 2011.  All details can be found here, where the party invitation says...

Let’s have a virtual tea ... to celebrate the Wedding of the New Millenium!

What are you knitting whilst preparing for the celebration? What are you reading (British literature, of course)? What are you planning for Aprll 29?

My husband and I will awake early (2 AM in the MST zone of the USA) and prepare a royal breakfast. Please bring a virtual British treat, along with the shared recipe, and join us for breakfast. We will discuss it all in the next week. Join in!

Supportive husband will be making a true English breakfast, including the full monty of

2 links good quality sausages

2 -3 slices bacon

2 flat mushrooms

1 -2 ripe tomato

1 large egg

1 slice bread

Optional Extras

1 slice black pudding
baked beans
cooked potato, thinly sliced

Later in the afternoon, we shall have scones and champagne!

And hats! Wear your hats!

One British Ravelry friend, HandWashOnly, said:

I work in a British boarding school. We will be at work on the 29th but we have the lessons off to watch the wedding (if we want) and are organising a whole school picnic lunch with bunting and plastic union jack bowler hats. We will be wearing red, white and blue!

I think regardless what people feel about the royals, the wedding is a fab reason to get together as a community!

So, because things might get a bit hectic as we try to sort our own celebrations, I am going to leave some bunting here and wish you a happy tea party!!

I shall be knitting on my V-Neck SummerTop Down Sweater whilst watching the festivities on the telly.

 

Please provide your virtual presence, complete with festive hat, perhaps a cucumber sandwith and an authentic English recipe. See you (virtually) around 2 AM here in the States. 

 

(No pajamas allowed.)

PS: Gifts for William and Kate may be given to their charitable trust that will support 26 charities of the couple’s choice, incorporating the armed forces, children, the elderly, art, sport and conservation.

Sheep Picture by Craftlit Friend Amy & Watercolor

Fellow tourist to Wales in the UK took this picture.  Actually, this is a screen shot, and the original was much clearer.  Is that a magpie on that sheep in the background?

Here is my watercolor rendition of a sheep:

This sweet picture of a fairy is my next watercolor effort. My first attempt ended in the wastebasket because it had too much color in the background.

More Flower Fairies can be seen here.

Small Places

North Carolina friend Carol sent me an article about a 90 sq. ft. apartment in New York City.  The entire article with more pictures can be found here.

Obviously, there is a place for everything. And at $700/month rent, WOW!  Her back yard is Central Park.

But I am still impressed that one of my Scrabble friends in Calgary, CA has moved into a renovated loft above a 100 year old pub in a toney part of the city.  His apartment is a bit over 300 square feet.  (And cost is not a concern for him, as he is wealthy by most middle American class standards.) 

It is all in the mindset.  Now I need to go get rid of a few clothes.

After posting this, my friend The KnitNurd gave a further link to TumblewoodHouses, tiny houses that pack a wallop.  Wouldn't you LOVE to have one of these?

Grandmother's Bread (with yeast and fairly sweet)

From the 1960's, this recipe was my favorite food item my grandmother made on a regular basis. I copied it down at the kitchen table while she spoke it. I knew I would want it later.  Boy, am I glad I did because I have used this recipe for these many years after she has been gone.  It is a real comfort food for me.

Favorite parts of the recipe include the words "beat with rolling pin" and the stains on the paper showing the age of the recipe.  And I do remember Mom beating the dough with a rolling pin!

Yesterday was cool and cloudy, and I made three loaves of this bread, although the original recipe said "Makes 4 loaves".

Loaves "under-cover"

All said and done, it was overcooked at 55 minutes (I confess to falling asleep while waiting for the stove buzzer), but still mighty tasty.